The Emergency and

Supplemental Food Providers…

FoodStamps

MealsOn

Wheels

Pantry

CACFP

HPNAP

WIC

SeniorDining Sites

Soup Kitchens

SummerFeeding

SchoolBreakfast

&

Lunch

Kid’s Cafe

SyracuseHUNGER

ProjectHunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance

Program

Women, Infants, & Children

Children, Adult Care Food Program

• City population 147,000

• February 2004 Unemployment rate 8.8% (NYS Dept. of Labor)

42

69

5

22

Interreligious Food Consortium & The Food Bank of CNY

The Food Bank of CNY

+Other

Total Number of City Pantries

Affiliated with:

• Data on each pantry include:• name• hours and days of

operation• number of meals

served

• Variety in sizes of pantry operations

• Variety of conditions of eligibility based on rules developed by each pantry

Changes Reported by Pantry Managers

• More Customers

• More Seniors

• More Working Poor

• Fewer Families

• More Singles

• Continuing demand for diapers and infant formula

Surveys were conducted in January through March of 2004

Survey of City Food PantriesIFC & Lemoyne College

Trends Reported by Pantry Managers

Survey of City Food PantriesIFC & Lemoyne College

• Primary concerns of managers:

• Sufficient food supplies

• Sufficient funding

• Fewer Donations of Food

• Increase of Secondary Food Markets

• Increased Donations From Churches

Surveys were conducted in January through March of 2004

FOOD STAMP ECONOMICS

Total FS Benefits Issued 9/03 $3.25 M

Loss of FS Benefits / month $1.6 M

Loss of FS Benefits / year $19.2 M

Onondaga County

Source: NYS Nutrition Consortium

FOOD STAMP Participation

Onondaga County

Number of Potential Eligibles

Number of FS Participants

Food Stamp Participation Rate

Unmet Need

54,208

36,300

66.96%

17,908Source: NYS Nutrition Consortium

• Larger dots show higher density of food stamp cases in apartment complexes or other congregate living sites

• Distribution heaviest:• Northside-north

of I-90 and east of I-81

• Southside-west of I-81 and south of I-690

• Food stamp recipients are an indicator of need for food

• Median income is an indicator of availability of resources

• Comparative information only

• Based on compilation of non-equivalent data sources

• Information may be valuable for targeted outreach

• For east area, student population may skew data

•Radius is one quarter mile as walking distance

•This map juxtaposes an indicator of need with an indicator of resources

•Demonstrated unmetneeds in:

• the northernmost part of the northside

• Eastwood• Southside east of I-81

and southern Valley

• Larger dots show higher numbers of meals served

• Many pantries tightly clustered in neighborhoods of high need

• Of 69 pantries, 13 have hours other thanfrom 7:00 AM to 5:00PM*.

* Based on ouravailable data

* Some programsmay have sincechanged hours

• Much greater pantry availability both in numbers and in neighborhoods served

• Many pantries operate only a few days per month

• Operating times vary from over 20 hours per week to one and a half hours per month

Children…

Assets

• WIC

• School breakfast and lunch

• Summer meal programs

In New York State, WIC is run through the New York State Department of Health. The program provides monthly checks to be exchanged at markets for nutritious foods like milk, cereal, and infant formula. In addition to the food, the WIC clinics provide nutrition education and counseling.

WIC is NOT an entitlement program.

WICWomen, Infants, and Children

Population Served:The WIC target population are low-income, nutritionally at risk:

•Pregnant women (through pregnancy and up to 6 weeks afterbirth or after pregnancy ends).

•Breastfeeding women (up to infant’s 1st birthday)

•Nonbreastfeeding postpartum women (up to 6 months afterthe birth of an infant or after pregnancy ends)

•Infants (up to 1st birthday). WIC serves 45 percent of allinfants born in the United States.

•Children up to their 5th birthday.

WIC At A Glance

Total # of People Served

6,140

WIC in Syracuse

Total # of People Eligible

13,792

Unmet Eligibles = 7,652 (56%)

• Includes all participants – women, infants and children.

• Range from a low of 30 percent to a high of 57 percent

• Infants are defined as one year or less

• Generally high levels of use of WIC by eligible infants ranging from 51% to 87%

• Children for WIC are from age one up to fifth birthday

• Noticeable drop in number of children as eligibles using WIC benefits ranging from 25% to 51%

• Drop-off in participation runs from 23.8 percent to 48.2 percent of all eligibles

• Darker red areas have highest amount of drop-off

• Blue dots are Kids’ Caféprograms at:

- Southwest CommunityCenter

- Boys & Girls Clubs at• Shonnard St.• E. Fayette St.• Hamilton St.

• Red dots are City Schoolswithout summer programs.

• Green dots are summermeal locations, many atCity schools.

SENIORS…

Assets

• Senior Dining Centers

• Meals on Wheels

• Food Stamps

• Darker colors reflect higher percentages of senior citizens in proportion to entire population

• Dots are Senior Dining Centers

• Clients are distributed more broadly than the immediate neighborhoods

• Data reveal significant mobility in this population

• Clients have access to high levels of resources, including:

• Nutritionists• Social Workers• Health Screening

• Percentage is of total number of clients rated at high risk (6 or higher) at Senior Dining Center locations

• NSI ratings include 10 topics involving:

• Overall health• Eating patterns• Prescription drugs• Economic

resources• Physical well-

being

•Medium risk is 3 to5

•High risk populations are more significantly clustered

•Medium risk populations are more broadly distributed

• Dots represent clients of Meals on Wheels of Syracuse, Inc. only

• Distribution is far more uniform than food stamp recipients and food pantries

High concentrations in north and south

• Rates of non-participation run from a high of 75 percent (meaning three out of four eligibles do not use the program) to a low of 48 percent.

• Dark purple areas reflect lowest levels of food stamp participation

ASSETS AND POSSIBILITIES…

• Mapping data as a community resource• Ability to combine datasets depicting differences

in spatial patterns of resources and needs• Additional data expands the possibilities for

understanding social issues in Syracuse• Ability to expand across the county and beyond

• TNT Sectors,(Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today)offer a way to workon hunger issues at a neighborhood level.

• Schools and churchesare potential andavailable resourcesfor programs andoutreach.

Project Recommendations: Children’s Issues

1. Increase WIC Enrollment

Project Recommendations: Children’s Issues

2. Form a Children’s Cooperative

Project Recommendations: Children’s Issues

3. Increase Efforts to Track Children’s Body Mass Index (BMI)

Project Recommendations: The Pantry System

4. Expand the use of the existing pantry system to increase outreach for food stamps, WIC, and the earned income tax credit

Project Recommendations: Senior Citizens

5. Target Outreach to Seniors

Project Recommendations: Process

6. Formalize the local emergency hunger network

Project Recommendations: Process

7. Convene local faith community leaders on hunger issues

Project Recommendations: Process

8. Invite a community-wide conversation concerning the interplay between theology and efficiency in the provision of hunger assistance

Project Recommendations: Process

9. Make explicit the relationship between public sector and not-for-profit hunger assistance programs

Project Recommendations: Process

10. Create the Position of “Community Geographer”